05 February 2025
The UK government £2.65 billion will be committed to build or maintain up to 1,000 flood defences.
Flooding experts at the 17吃瓜 have commented on the announcement.
Dr Jess Neumann, Associate Professor of Hydrology at the 17吃瓜, said: “£2.65 billion to protect 66,000 properties is a small step in the right direction, but it's not enough.
"6.3 million properties are at risk of flooding in the UK. This investment addresses about 1% of the problem.
“Investment is needed across the board - building and repairing hard-engineered defences is only one approach. We need more investment in nature-based solutions to support flood action and community preparedness and stricter controls on new developments."
Professor Hannah Cloke, Professor of Hydrology at the 17吃瓜, said: "Climate change will unleash fiercer floods, and today's decisions will echo for generations. While it's smart to maintain our defences instead of just chasing shiny new projects, this funding shuffle still ducks the hard choices ahead.
"We're trying to squeeze contradictory demands into the same cramped space. Building millions of homes, ramping up food production, creating flood storage zones, and rewilding the countryside – it's like trying to fit an elephant, a whale, and a giraffe into a phone booth. We need to face facts: We have to recognise that flooding will always happen and is an issue we can't always build ourselves out of.
"While I'm encouraged that they'll revisit the funding formula, since the current system ties communities up in knots and leaves them high and dry when promised defences evaporate. We need a straightforward, fair way to determine which projects truly deliver value for money."
We are in the process of finalising our postgraduate taught courses for 2026/27 entry. In the meantime, you can view our 2025/26 courses.
